American Philosophy: A Love Story

In American Philosophy, John Kaag - a disillusioned philosopher at sea in his marriage and career - stumbles upon a treasure trove of rare books on an old estate in the hinterlands of New Hampshire that once belonged to the Harvard philosopher William Ernest Hocking. The library includes notes from Whitman, inscriptions from Frost, and first editions of Hobbes, Descartes, and Kant. As he begins to catalog and preserve these priceless books, Kaag rediscovers the very tenets of American philosophy.

Ethics in the Real World: 82 Brief Essays on Things That Matter

Peter Singer is often described as the world's most influential philosopher. He is also one of its most controversial. The author of important books such as Animal Liberation and Practical Ethics, he helped launch the animal rights and effective altruism movements and contributed to the development of bioethics. Now, in Ethics in the Real World, Singer shows that he is also a master at dissecting important current events in a few hundred words.

At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails

Paris, 1933: Three contemporaries meet over apricot cocktails at the Bec-de-Gaz bar on the rue Montparnasse. They are the young Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and longtime friend Raymond Aron, a fellow philosopher who raves to them about a new conceptual framework from Berlin called phenomenology. "You see," he says, "if you are a phenomenologist, you can talk about this cocktail and make philosophy out of it!"

The Pursuit of Power: Europe: 1815-1914

Richard J. Evans's gripping narrative ranges across a century of social and national conflicts, from the revolutions of 1830 and 1848 to the unification of both Germany and Italy, from the Russo-Turkish wars to the Balkan upheavals that brought this era of relative peace and growing prosperity to an end. The first single-volume history of the century, this comprehensive and sweeping account gives the listener a magnificently human picture of Europe in the age when it dominated the rest of the globe.

American Revolutions: A Continental History, 1750-1804

The American Revolution is often portrayed as a high-minded, orderly event whose capstone, the Constitution, provided the ideal framework for a democratic, prosperous nation. Alan Taylor, two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, gives us a different creation story in this magisterial history of the nation's founding. Rising out of the continental rivalries of European empires and their native allies, Taylor's Revolution builds like a ground fire overspreading Britain's mainland colonies, fueled by local conditions, destructive, hard to quell.

Peter Stephens says:"Best book on the American Revolution that I have read"

The Invention of Science: A New History of the Scientific Revolution

In this fascinating history spanning continents and centuries, historian David Wootton offers a lively defense of science, revealing why the Scientific Revolution was truly the greatest event in our history. The Invention of Science goes back 500 years in time to chronicle this crucial transformation, exploring the factors that led to its birth and the people who made it happen. Wootton argues that the Scientific Revolution was actually five separate yet concurrent events that developed independently.

Pax Romana: War, Peace, and Conquest in the Roman World

Pax Romana examines how the Romans came to control so much of the world and asks whether traditionally favorable images of the Roman peace are true. Goldsworthy vividly recounts the rebellions of the conquered and examines why they broke out, why most failed, and how they became exceedingly rare. He reveals that hostility was just one reaction to the arrival of Rome and that from the outset, conquered peoples collaborated, formed alliances, and joined invaders, causing resistance movements to fade away.

The Vanquished: Why the First World War Failed to End

In The Vanquished, a highly original and gripping work of history, Robert Gerwarth asks us to think again about the true legacy of the First World War. In large part it was not the fighting on the Western Front that proved so ruinous to Europe's future but the devastating aftermath, as countries on both sides of the original conflict were savaged by revolutions, pogroms, mass expulsions, and further major military clashes.

Hitler: Ascent 1889-1939

For all the literature about Adolf Hitler, there have been just four seminal biographies; this is the fifth, a landmark work that sheds important new light on Hitler himself. Drawing on previously unseen papers and a wealth of recent scholarly research, Volker Ullrich reveals the man behind the public persona, from Hitler's childhood, to his failures as a young man in Vienna, to his experiences during the First World War, to his rise as a far-right party leader.

The Attention Merchants: The Epic Scramble to Get Inside Our Heads

In nearly every moment of our waking lives, we face a barrage of advertising enticements, branding efforts, sponsored social media, commercials and other efforts to harvest our attention. Over the last century, few times or spaces have remained uncultivated by the "attention merchants", contributing to the distracted, unfocused tenor of our times. Tim Wu argues that this is not simply the byproduct of recent inventions, but the end result of more than a century's growth and expansion in the industries that feed on human attention.

The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself

Already internationally acclaimed for his elegant, lucid writing on the most challenging notions in modern physics, Sean Carroll is emerging as one of the greatest humanist thinkers of his generation as he brings his extraordinary intellect to bear not only on the Higgs boson and extra dimensions but now also on our deepest personal questions. Where are we? Who are we? Are our emotions, our beliefs, and our hopes and dreams ultimately meaningless out there in the void?

The Cultural Revolution: A People’s History, 1962-1976

After the economic disaster of the Great Leap Forward that claimed tens of millions of lives from 1958-1962, an aging Mao Zedong launched an ambitious scheme to shore up his reputation and eliminate those he viewed as a threat to his legacy. The stated goal of the Cultural Revolution was to purge the country of bourgeois, capitalistic elements he claimed were threatening genuine communist ideology.

The English and Their History

Robert Tombs' momentous The English and Their History is both a startlingly fresh and a uniquely inclusive account of the people who have a claim to be the oldest nation in the world. The English first came into existence as an idea, before they had a common ruler and before the country they lived in even had a name. They have lasted as a recognizable entity ever since, and their defining national institutions can be traced back to the earliest years of their history.

The Unknown Universe: A New Exploration of Time, Space and Cosmology

On March 21, 2013, the European Space Agency released a map of the afterglow of the big bang. Taking in 440 sextillion kilometers of space and 13.8 billion years of time, it is physically impossible to make a better map: We will never see the early universe in more detail. On the one hand, such a view is the apotheosis of modern cosmology; on the other, it threatens to undermine almost everything we hold cosmologically sacrosanct.

A History of Western Philosophy

Bertrand Russell's A History of Western Philosophy serves as the perfect introduction to its subject; it remains unchallenged as the greatest account of the history of Western thought. Charting philosophy's course from the pre-Socratics up to the early twentieth century, Russell relates each philosopher and school to their respective historical and cultural contexts, providing erudite commentary throughout his invaluable survey.

A Rage for Order: The Middle East in Turmoil, from Tahrir Square to ISIS

In 2011 a wave of revolution spread through the Middle East as protesters demanded an end to tyranny, corruption, and economic decay. From Egypt to Yemen, a generation of young Arabs insisted on a new ethos of common citizenship. Five years later their utopian aspirations have taken on a darker cast as old divides reemerge and deepen. In one country after another, brutal terrorists and dictators have risen to the top.

Katie Davis says:"Captivating storytelling approach to the Arab uprisings and their aftermath"

Thus Bad Begins: A Novel

Madrid, 1980. Juan de Vere, nearly finished with his university degree, takes a job as personal assistant to Eduardo Muriel, an eccentric, once-successful film director. Urbane, discreet, irreproachable, Muriel is an irresistible idol to the young man. But Muriel's voluptuous wife, Beatriz, inhabits their home like an unwanted ghost, and on the periphery of their lives is Dr. Jorge Van Vechten, a family friend implicated in unsavory rumors that Muriel now asks Juan to investigate.

Rise of the Machines: A Cybernetic History

As lives offline and online merge, it's easy to forget how we got here. Rise of the Machines reclaims the story of cybernetics, a control theory of man and machine. Thomas Rid delivers a portrait of our technology-enraptured era. Springing from mathematician Norbert Wiener amid the devastation of World War II, the cybernetic vision underpinned a host of myths about the future of machines. This vision radically transformed the postwar world, ushering in sweeping cultural change.

Ike's Gamble: America's Rise to Dominance in the Middle East

In 1956 President Nasser of Egypt moved to take possession of the Suez Canal, thereby bringing the Middle East to the brink of war. The British and the French, who operated the canal, joined with Israel in a plan to retake it by force. Despite the special relationship between England and America, Dwight Eisenhower intervened to stop the invasion.

I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life

Joining the ranks of popular science classics like The Botany of Desire and The Selfish Gene, a groundbreaking, wondrously informative, and vastly entertaining examination of the most significant revolution in biology since Darwin - a "microbe's-eye view" of the world that reveals a marvelous, radically reconceived picture of life on Earth.

Aristotle for Everybody: Difficult Thought Made Easy

“Almost all of the philosophical truths that I have come to know and understand I have learned from Aristotle,” says Mortimer J. Adler. This easy-to-listen-to exposition of Aristotle’s thoughts about nature, human actions, and the conduct of life confirms convictions that most of us hold, though we may not be fully aware of them. This is because Aristotle’s philosophical insights are grounded in the common experience we all possess and because they illuminate the common sense we all rely on.

The Upside of Inequality: How Good Intentions Undermine the Middle Class

Conventional wisdom says income inequality is rising and harmful to nearly everyone, and the rich are to blame. But as Ed Conard shows, anyone who can produce a product valued by the entire economy will find his or her income growing faster than those who are limited by the number of customers they can serve, such as schoolteachers, plumbers, doctors, and lawyers.

The Art of Rivalry: Four Friendships, Betrayals, and Breakthroughs in Modern Art

Rivalry is at the heart of some of the most famous and fruitful relationships in history. The Art of Rivalry follows eight celebrated artists, each linked to a counterpart by friendship, admiration, envy, and ambition. All eight are household names today. But to achieve what they did, each needed the influence of a contemporary - one who was equally ambitious but who possessed sharply contrasting strengths and weaknesses.

Publisher's Summary

In this landmark new study of Western thought, Anthony Gottlieb looks afresh at the writings of the great thinkers, questions much of conventional wisdom, and explains his findings with unbridled brilliance and clarity. From the pre-Socratic philosophers through the celebrated days of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, up to Renaissance visionaries like Erasmus and Bacon, philosophy emerges here as a phenomenon unconfined by any one discipline. Indeed, as Gottlieb explains, its most revolutionary breakthroughs in the natural and social sciences have repeatedly been co-opted by other branches of knowledge, leading to the illusion that philosophers never make any progress.

From the physics of angels to Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose, Gottlieb builds through example and anecdote a vivid portrait of the human drive for understanding. After finishing The Dream of Reason, listeners will be graced with a fresh appreciation of the philosophical quest, its entertaining and bizarre byways, and its influence on every aspect of life.

An interesting review of the early development of western philosophy. I would recommend it to those who are curious about how our collective philosophical thought came to be.
The content is organized chronologically by those who were the driving force of the idea. The author does a neat job tying previous and future concepts together, and hence my problem. Not a student of philosophy I was occasionally lost by the frequent reference to names I was unfamiliar with. This would be an asset to those who know the names.
Narration is excellent, as is the sound quality.

If you want to learn about Philosophy or have had a modest introduction to one or two philosophers you are likely to appreciate this book. Its emphasis is undoubtedly on ancient greek philosophy rather than modern philosophy. However it was no small task to assemble even what was in here. The narrator is also excellent and a pleasure to listen to. The only criticism I have is that the author takes an attitude that we now know all there is to be known, and it becomes painfully obvious from listening to this book that there is a lot left to learn.

There are great literary works and there are great works of narration. "The Dream of Reason (Unabridged)" from Audible.com is both.

The greatness of this book is well known ( so I will concentrate primarily on the recording content), tracing the philosophy of "reason" from its infancy in early Greek thought, to the monumental advances of Aristotle (the greatest philosopher of all time IMO), onto the relevancy to the modern day. One need NOT be formally trained in philosophy to enjoy, learn from, and appreciate this narration. Even so, the advanced philosopher will enjoy even more. In short this is simply a real gem.

Although I had read this book several times in print, the audible version animates in such a wonderful way. Indeed, I found myself so captivated by the perfect narration, that I tended to 'remain" in my car even upon arrival at my destination :-)

I could not recommend a title at Audible.com more highly.
Indeed, I truly believe it will make you a better person. It did me :-)

This book is written so deftly, and with such a wry wit, that it elevates what could have been a very dry overview into one of the most engaging audiobooks I've ever listened to. This is due in no small part to the narrator, whose british phrasings capture the rhythms of the text in an extremely pleasurable way.

A great companion to any Western Philosophy study. Gottleib has a very wry sense of humor, and adds a human element to what have often been deemed unapproachable minds. He excells at bridging the gaps between prominent schools of thought, tying the philiospher with their theory and their successors (and detractors). For example, he gives an especially lucid portrait of Aristotle, and follows it up with a timeline of influence, from his slavishly devoted followers to men like Franics Bacon that wished to see him purged from thought. Best listened to when total focus is an option- the reading is slightly dry, and he can go on and on at great lengths from time to time. Other than that, it's very enjoyable and extremely informative.

This book was my first attempt at studying philosophy since college. I found the book easy to listen to, enjoyable and enlightening. The author doesn't waste time arguing with other interpretations, but rather gives a straigtforward easy to understand interpretation of each philosopher discussed. Since listening to this book I have read several other intros to philosophy, none with the clarity and focus of this book. The narrator was excellent as well.

This book provided one of the most interesting insights I've ever had in to how people originally began to inspect their lives and the world around them. It traces, literally, how people started to think. I'd never understood where logic came from. As someone else enthused, "ignore this book at your peril" or something like that. There is nothing I've heard out there, contemporary or otherwise, which comes a gnat's hair close to paralleling the degree of intellectual clarity this book describes.

Highly "readable" and engaging sweep of Western philosophy from the pre-Socratics to the Renaissance. Gottlieb often refers back to earlier philosophers whom he has already discussed, drawing connections critical to giving the listener a sense of continuity and departure in philosophical thought. Remaining faithful to the complexity of the ideas while being remarkably clear and often very witty stands as no small accomplishment. I learned a great deal, even about philosophers with whose works I have been long familiar.

Truly worth the time and, unfortunately at times, effort. Although the presentation rambled on a bit too often the many embedded gems rewarded my patience. The narrators voice is pleasant, but her presentation contributed to this book's monotonous stretches. The ending was abrupt, unresolved, and without summation - which I would have appreciated at the end of this marathon. Criticisms aside, I still recommend this book to anyone interested in beginning to grasp the foundation that shapes our thoughts and attitudes today.